Caparo T1, Discussion thread.

Jay.
Have you guys any idea how much power, speed and downforce you would need
to stop gravity from slamming all 535kg straight back down to the tarmac?
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Not much, some and quite a bit, in that order.

Now, assuming you can get the car upside-down in the first place - and it wouldn't necessarily need a shallow grade tunnel to do it (the Minis in the original The Italian Job tried an impromptu complete rollover in the tunnel sequence, but couldn't quite get enough lateral acceleration to manage it - all you'd need is enough downforce acting upwards to completely counter the weight of the car. After all, weight is only mass times the downwards acceleration due to gravity. Counter that and you have no downwards acceleration...

An F1 car generates enough downforce - near enough 6000N of it - at just about 80mph to completely counter its weight. At 120mph it'll be generating twice as much downforce as the weight of the car.

The Caparo T1 is a relatively light car - lighter than an F1 car, as it happens. It'd only need to generate 5250N of downforce in order to counter its weight (535kg x 9.81N/kg). My calculations say that all that is needed for that to happen is a combined wing area of about 0.37 square metres set at 15 degrees for the Caparo to drive upside down at 140mph.
 
Both cars looks hot! :drool: :drool:
I mean its a close to an F1 car and yet its street legal! Well i prefer the Hulme F1 car because the styling looks a lot smoother than the Caparo T1. But who am i complaining, if both have a good performance then the looks could only come second.

I think the Caparo T1 could hit 240mph with the right setup (maybe even using an Indy car setup) but does anybody know what would be the minimal downforce setup for the car? And would it be possible to be as fast as an Indy Car?
 
mnm_bmx
I think the Caparo T1 could hit 240mph with the right setup (maybe even using an Indy car setup) but does anybody know what would be the minimal downforce setup for the car? And would it be possible to be as fast as an Indy Car?
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The Autocar review that Scaff posted states a top speed of 190-200+. Like most 'single-seaters' it's aerodynamics are not really suited to extreme high-speeds. Indy Cars run a very low downforce set up on the longer oval circuits but that set-up would be useless on a road course. The Caparo needs to work on a road course so would be too compromised to be as quick as an Indy Car on an oval.

The white Caparo in the photos, although seemingly road-registered, looks to be running on non road-legal slicks. If you are going to run slicks and want Indy Car like performance why not save half your £211k and just buy an older Indy Car? I can't see that running a car as quick as the Caparo at your average track day would be much fun, the usual Clio's and M3's and similar would be like mobile chicanes such would be the speed difference.
 
Question: Is this thing running on 91-octane (or whatever its European equal is) petrol, or are we doing strictly racing fuel, or straight-ethanol?

Either way, the car is bad-ass. But, and this is a HUGE but, I can get an Atom 2 for quite a lot less money and still have nearly as much fun. Sure, it isn't nearly as fast, but as they say in the movies;

"That'll do pig. That'll do."
 
YSSMAN
Question: Is this thing running on 91-octane (or whatever its European equal is) petrol, or are we doing strictly racing fuel, or straight-ethanol?

Either way, the car is bad-ass. But, and this is a HUGE but, I can get an Atom 2 for quite a lot less money and still have nearly as much fun. Sure, it isn't nearly as fast, but as they say in the movies;

"That'll do pig. That'll do."
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Its running on standard pump fuel, I would imagine that a minimum of 95-octane (RON) would be recommended by the manufacturers (as is the norm for road cars of this type).

In regards to the Atom comparison, well to a degree I would agree on the road (although the acceleration is still in a different class); but once you get to a track the T1's aero set-up would make the two like chalk and cheese. A better comparison in that regard would be with a road legal Radical.

Regards

Scaff
 
With regards to 2WD acceleration...

There is no distinguishable difference between the Ariel Atom 2 300 and 245 in terms of on-road performance, simply because public roads do not offer sufficient levels of grip for these lightweighters to get the power down.
 
Its pretty much what I had assumed in terms of performance, but the big difference is price. My guess is that a Caparo would probably be close to half a million dollars by the time it came across the Atlantic, by comparison, an Atom 2 starts just north of $40K here.

That leaves you with enough cash to get at least 8/10ths the performance with the Atom 2, a really nice trailer to carry it in, not to mention a Chevrolet Suburban to tow it with. After all that, you'd still have $200K left over to pick up an A8 and a G8 GT while you're at it...
 
YSSMAN
Its pretty much what I had assumed in terms of performance, but the big difference is price. My guess is that a Caparo would probably be close to half a million dollars by the time it came across the Atlantic, by comparison, an Atom 2 starts just north of $40K here.

That leaves you with enough cash to get at least 8/10ths the performance with the Atom 2, a really nice trailer to carry it in, not to mention a Chevrolet Suburban to tow it with. After all that, you'd still have $200K left over to pick up an A8 and a G8 GT while you're at it...
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Like the V-10 CSL, this is a car that people with enough money to buy this, and the Ariel and the suburban and the other cars would buy. They aren't looking for their first track car I'm assuming. And for those types, 8/10ths of the performance is no substitute for 10/10ths of the performance.
 
Since I'm having a bad day I'll go ahead and post my dislike of both cars (Hulme/Caparo). Colors aside, they are horrendous looking. However, on a positive note I bet they are very quick and fun to drive. I just wouldn't own them with that bodywork on them.
 
What is cool about the Hulme and Caparo is that they are at the opposite extreme to the Veyron and CCX, two cars focused more on handling than top-speed. It really is amazing that we can live in an era in which these hyper-cars can exist so easily, where engineering can really facilitate the create these monsters for the street.

But, I'd still rather do my previously outlined plan
 
The Caparo actually appeared in an issue of Popular Science as well as Autocar. The issue is unknown, but I will try to find it. The staff labeled it as a ,"the first road-legal race car", but what are the chances of anyone trying that? As all of you have said before, the Ariel Atom is road legal but very unfriendly on the street.

For some reason, Popular Science LIKED the bodywork...

P.S: I think the Caparo T1 is better looking than the Hulme F1; though the latter has the name of F1's 1967 World Champion, it looks as if the engineers turned the fan on too high in the wind tunnel and the car's bodywork settled on the back wheels, clinging for dear life...

EDIT: No doubt the Hulme F1's evolution from an F1 racer is more apparent; those side-mounted radiators are hard to miss!
 
daan
Doesn't look it to me

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Tell me, is there a cameraman holding the camera, or is it mounted on the frame of the car? It certainly would be telling if it was the latter...

But, then again, the driver did seem very comfortable in the seat.
 
The cameraman - ME - is holding a Kodak Z740 digital camera and trying to keep the button pressed down in a car that can do 0-100mph in 7s and 100-0mph in 3s.

It was a mite tricky - though my brother didn't do quite those speeds on the public highway.

I went out in it again on Sunday as it happens. He's had the brake bias adjusted and it's even more eyewatering. Literally, actually - I had goggles ("Shoggles") on and the braking force was sufficient to pull the water from my eyeballs onto the inside of the goggles...
 
http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/09/jason-plato-injured-when-caparo-t1-bursts-into-flames-at-150-mph/

Jason Plato, BTCC champion and Fifth Gear presenter, found himself in the midst of a Caparo T1 barbeque while testing the new supercar at the Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground in Leicestershire. According to Plato, he noticed a loss of power while traveling upwards of 150 MPH. He checked the outside mirror, saw smoke and then felt a rush of intense heat. The T1 "spontaneously erupted into a ball of flame," said Plato, who immediately stopped the Caparo and jumped out after sustaining burns to his neck, face and hands.

He was rushed to the hospital and is expected to consult a burn specialist later today. Plato still intends to compete at the final BTCC race this weekend at the Thurxton Circuit this Sunday, which coincides with his 40th birthday. Just be careful blowing out those candles, Jason.

[Source: Fifth Gear]

PRESS RELEASE

Jason Plato hurt in TV filming accident

Jason Plato has been hurt in an incident during filming for the Channel 5 Fifth Gear programme.

SEAT Sport UK's Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship driver was testing a road-going Caparo T1 supercar at Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground near Lutterworth in Leicestershire when it burst into flames at an estimated 150mph. The car has a maximum top speed of 200mph.

Jason was taken by private car to the nearest accident and emergency facility at the Market Harborough and District Hospital. After initial treatment he was transferred by ambulance to Kettering General Hospital. Following further treatment there, he was transferred by ambulance to the Stoke Mandeville Hospital, where he received treatment in the specialist burns unit. He was released later the same evening and spent the night resting at home in Oxfordshire, before seeing a burns specialist again this morning.

Jason has received burns to both hands (the right hand being more badly injured), his face and the back of the neck. He has vowed to race at this weekend's final BTCC race meeting at Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire on Sunday 14th October, which is also his 40th birthday. Jason, who races a SEAT Leon, goes into the final three races of the season leading the BTCC Drivers' category, nine points ahead of Italy's Fabrizio Giovanardi (Vauxhall).

Jason said: "We were testing the Caparo T1 for Fifth Gear, and we took it to Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground, a private testing facility, which is common practice. There was a slight loss of power, I looked in the mirror and saw some smoke, there was a slight smell of oil and then suddenly there was this intense heat. The car spontaneously erupted into a ball of flame and I was sat in the middle of a fireball. I hit the brakes, brought the car to a stop as quickly as I could and jumped out.

"We found the nearest hospital on our sat nav and Phil Bennett [former BTCC racing driver who was at the test] took me to the local A&E. I would very much like to thank Phil, all the staff at Market Harborough and District Hospital, Kettering General Hospital and Stoke Mandeville Hospital for all the excellent care and treatment they so quickly administered.

"The back of my neck is burnt and so are my face and hands. I obviously couldn't take my hands off the steering wheel whilst braking and my right hand is more badly burnt than my left. I'll have to dig deep, but I'm still looking forward to the BTCC finale this weekend. It's been a hard-fought season and I've led the Drivers' Championship almost unbroken since winning the opening round, so this isn't going to stop me winning the title on Sunday."
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One word: :ouch:
 
Trust Fifth Gear to balls it all up. They'll probably say it was the guys at Top Gear trying to get their own back.
 
Fifth gear are starting to get quite resonable, they do all the stuff that top gear doesnt like test normal cars. But they arnt as entertaining...

Robin
 
Sting
Trust Fifth Gear to balls it all up. They'll probably say it was the guys at Top Gear trying to get their own back.
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So it has nothing to do with the poor manufacturing of the Caparo?

Ugh.
 
That's a bit embarrasing for Caparo. They'll have a bit of a red neck, along with Plato...
 
I didn't think they had any production models yet, so this must have been one of the few running prototypes. It slightly excuses the flames, but they also jsut loss their main source of development of the vehicle.
 
exigeracer
I didn't think they had any production models yet, so this must have been one of the few running prototypes. It slightly excuses the flames, but they also jsut loss their main source of development of the vehicle.
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I swear I saw it in Wheels magazine today in full production trim and ready to sell. Got this off Wiki to back my claims

Wiki
The T1 is scheduled for production in mid-2007 for a price of GB£180,000 (approx. US$350,000, c.2007).[2]
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Awww... c'mon... all the big boys are bursting into flames... if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Ferrari should be very very flattered at this turn of events... :lol:
 
This is the sort of publicity that does small manufacturers no favours....

Nasty incident though, especially as the flames crept forward from the rear.
 

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